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Imagine an eager new country home-owner (5 years younger), blobby pittosporums
in beds of bark chips, a house lawn riddled by garden cut-outs and dominated
by a large noisy gum tree. Through the white house fence is a scruffy
paddock, and a large pond with two big flax bushes.
This is how my country gardening dream began.
Just as I started 5 years ago, so this virtual tour of Moosey's Country
Garden has to start by the house, then move out in all directions, mirroring
the development of the garden itself. |
| The house borders were the first I changed. Out came those ill-chosen
pittosporums, in went roses and perennials. Mary Rose and Othello
went in by the big bay window, Nancy Steen by the steps, New Dawn on each
side of the bare pergola. |
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Then the garden crept slowly outwards, first down the driveway.
The roses Iceberg, Bantry bay, and Cecile Brunner were planted to cover
the fence, and the driveway border quickly became a spring delight with
daffodils and weeping blossom trees. |
| Next the garden spread its tentacles through the house fence to the
pond paddock. This was my first major project, and the present beds
and borders represent many hours of digging, kneeling, planting, shifting
plants, more digging, and so on, taking place over many months. The
present beds are set in shape, and the early trees planted are well established. |
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There are mixed plantings in the pond paddock borders. There
are tough shrubs like viburnums, senecios and flaxes around a backbone
of elm trees in the Jellybean border, creating shelter for the paddock.
The side border nearest the house is filled at the moment with roses, flaxes,
grasses,
salvias, dahlias and daylilies. The far side border is a worry;
the plants here have to survive being close to gum trees, in poor, dry
"soil". The pond
is used for storing irrigation water, and is half surrounded by decking
and plantings.
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| Here the dramatic Gunnera dominates until the frosts come.
Then I bend back the thick spiky stems to protect the huge crowns, letting
in sunlight to the small flaxes and spring daffodils underneath. |
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The Wattle woods were developed gradually over 3 years, with compost,
manure and peastraw added continually to build up the soil. Much
expansion and digging went on as the Wattle woods crept slowly towards
the fenceline. |
| I inherited 3 carloads of plants from a friend and was able to fill
in some spaces with ligularias, rhododendrons, more roses, hostas and other
treasures. This special area was named the Judith Anne Memorial garden,
or the JAM garden (by the way, my friend Judith Anne is very much alive
and living in Bromyard, U.K.). I watched the dog taking short-cuts
through the JAM garden, and built paths to follow his route. Then
I proudly built three shady seats, and surrounded them with mass plantings
of a strappy iris and a native renga renga. |
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Then my focus shifted back to the immediate house garden. The
island bed was an original bed cut out of the house lawn, and reluctantly
I Allowed it to stay. Its shape changed though, several times, and
various plantings came and went. The toe toe still survives, in pride
of place. |
One blustery day in June 1999, contractors started felling the 35 gums
over the water race. Now I could spread my garden tentacles still
further! The henhouse area was the first to be cleared and planted.
Again the dog routed the main path, and Rugosas were to go on one side,
New Zealand natives on
the other. The distinction didn't last! The water race
gave me lots of inspiration, and paths along its edge followed (actually,
I followed the dog route again). Here more exotic plantings were
allowed, including a new patch of gunnera cut from the original by the
pond. |
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A large border by the Middle bridge over the water race was dug around
the gum stumps and filled with rhododendrons and specially purchased Dogwoods.
This border is already expanding, as it creeps along the water race consuming
stumps. 800 new daffodils have just been planted. Where will
it all end? |
| I hope that you enjoy this quick tour. For a full virtual tour of my
garden, garden diaries, pets and much more visit Moosey's
Country Garden.:
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Garden Tour |
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